Two China lakes menaced by algae outbreaks

BEIJING, June 17 (Reuters) Two of China's major lakes are again threatened by spreading algae that has endangered drinking water and underscored the pollution choking the country's waterways, state media reported today.

Satellite pictures of Taihu and Chaohu Lakes in the country's heavily populated east showed canopies of blue-green algae covering big stretches of the lakes, the China News Service reported.

A putrid algae outbreak in past weeks led to the shutdown of tap water to much of Wuxi, a city beside Taihu Lake in Jiangsu province.

Experts warned the algae could expand to cover more of Chaohu Lake in neighbouring Anhui province, the country's fifth biggest fresh water lake.

''Once the conditions for blue-green algae reproduction are ripe, it's very difficult to effectively avoid it in the short term,'' Anhui biologist Li Yucheng told the Workers' Daily newspaper.

''Some necessary rescue responses can only seek to reduce to a minimum the harm from an outbreak.'' Algae blooms develop in water that is rich in nutrients, often because of run-off from heavy fertiliser use, industrial runoff and untreated sewage -- all pollutants in ready supply in eastern China.

China sacked or punished five officials for dereliction of duty after green algae covered Taihu, the country's third largest fresh water lake, and left tap water undrinkable for many of Wuxi's 2.3 million residents.

As of Friday, algae covered about 800 square kilometres (309 square miles) or one third of Taihu, and 280 square kilometres (108 square miles) or one third of Chaohu, the China Metereological Administration reported on its Web site today.

REUTERS NY PM1245